PEORIA — Shelby Duitsman, a senior Bradley University student from Ogden, couldn’t believe what she had seen.

Duitsman, another student and Peoria County Sheriff Mike McCoy were operating a booth at Northwoods Mall last week to raise awareness for the new handheld cellphone usage laws in Illinois. The campaign — called Hang Up and Drive — is a senior project for Duitsman and other public relations majors at Bradley.

The booth’s presence was meant to gather pledges from passers-by not to use cellphones while driving. One person was stopped by the group to pledge, but Duitsman said the person declined, saying he probably wouldn’t follow through on the promise.

“He said that in front of the sheriff,” Duitsman recalled afterward.

That mall encounter was one of many interesting findings Duitsman and others have gleaned from the project. The group teamed with the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office to spread the message of the law while the students aimed to secure 500 pledges by the project’s submission at the end of the semester.

Pledge tables were set up at the mall and Peoria Chiefs games in addition to the Facebook page dedicated to the cause. As of last week, the group collected more than 250 pledges.

Through surveys, Duitsman learned that the tanning ban for minors and marijuana laws have trumped interest and knowledge on the cellphone ban while driving in Illinois.

“It’s not really a sexy law,” Duitsman said.

And the pledge table encounters with people have varied from encouraging to tone deaf. McCoy boosted the pledge count at Northwoods Mall last week, but many don’t know the details of the law, or worse yet, don’t even believe the law exists.

“Some people shut me down right away,” Duitsman said. “Others have said, ‘I’m so glad to see you doing this.’ But I’ve learned more in this class than anywhere else.”

Thomas Bruch can be reached at 686-3188 or tbruch@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasBruch.